All Chapters of Reclaiming His Mate: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Oslo set the can on the table, wiping the back of his mouth on his arm. “Taking Grandbay would give him numerous advantages. He’d have the southern hunting grounds all the way to Route 50, and the south-reaching valley provides a narrow access point to Eastpeak’s territory on the mountain. Dalesbloom would effectively control a crescent shaped plot of land closing in around Eastpeak. If David’s hungry for our territory, I guarantee he won’t want to just stop with Grandbay. Especially because controlling Eastpeak would give him access to the Union Pacific rail line. It would be much cheaper for him to run and distribute his imports by rail rather than truck like he is now.”“His access to the rail line would be unmonitored too. He wouldn’t have to clear it with Everett when he retrieves a shipment,” I contributed. “That’s the main reason why he isn’t using rail right now.”“What’s he bringing in that he doesn’t want monitored?” asked Gretel.“Guns,” I said. “Maybe more.”“He’s running

Around midnight, the manor fell silent. The last packmates lounging in the parlor had left, and I’d been in bed for an hour already. David’s bedroom door had closed, and Colt and Catrina were gone, presumably on a patrol or seeing Gavin or running some errand for David. My restlessness conjured up so much madness that I’d been thinking about running away again. I wouldn’t get that far, but I did want to go outside, at least. I could handle the consequences if they were David scolding me. I could take another chance. I’d never felt this bold before.Sneaking out of my bedroom, I made it all the way downstairs to the porch door. There, I paused, reconsidering. Chances were I’d get caught again, and there would be no escaping David’s punishment. I could still turn around and go back to my room. But I was so close to freedom that whatever waited me tomorrow would be worth the peaceful moments I’d find now. My sense of freedom—I could trust it one last time. The same wildness that made me

I flung myself at the dragon, snarling viciously as I hit its flank and jammed my teeth into its thigh. The dragon dropped Jesper and screeched, lashing its hip to the side. Its teeth snapped at my fur, but I let go of its thigh and whipped my head around before it could grab me, dragging my teeth across its face. Hissing, the dragon bit at the air and flared its wings, unwittingly giving me my next target. I struck at its wing, crunching on its elbow joint and severing the thin skin between its fingers. My weight pinned the dragon down on its side and it struggled, flailing helplessly trying to bite me, before it pushed me away and leaped to safety with its ravaged wing.I bristled at the dragons, baring my teeth in warning while Jesper trembled in the grass beside me. I had her now, and I lunged at the dragons with the threat not to fuck with her again. They all flinched back. The unicorn reared up and kicked at the nearest dragon, thrashing its long, piercing horn, before it leaped

Oh no. I was hoping I could avoid his attention. I wouldn’t survive a private conversation with Alpha Gavin! He was going to berate me and scold me for disobeying David, put me in my place like a true wolf; it was sad, but I dreaded him making me cry again. I regretted sneaking out for this reason alone; had I known I’d fall into Alpha Gavin’s hands, I never would have left.He didn’t spend a second on me, already turning back to Muriel. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll find you some better clothes after I deal with her.”Muriel reached out to me and touched my hand. “Thank you, Billie. I hope to see you again.”“You too,” I managed.After squeezing my fingers, Muriel let me go. I dragged my feet out the door and into the darkness outside the house, overlooking the shadowed driveway in anticipation of a pair of headlights.Gavin closed the door as he stepped beside me and gripped my arm, unrelentingly tight until he realized and loosened it to comfortably hold me instead. The warmth o

“You don’t know how many dragons are out there.”“I’d rather keep the number of people in contact with her to a minimum.” We both knew how valuable unicorns were as a commodity to other shifters. The magic they possessed was unlike what most shifters were capable of when alive. And dead, their bodies were harvested for nearly every organ, every scrap of meat—especially their opalescent horns, a crucial ingredient in magic-based rituals. I didn’t know much about them except that their horns were a conduit of magic. I wasn’t about to let Muriel slip into some trafficking scheme through David, which I didn’t doubt he would have turned to in order to make some money. Maybe I didn’t trust him as much as I claimed. I stared at him hard and he seemed to understand my unspoken accusations.David smiled thinly. “Very well. I’ll let you know when the coast is clear.” He stepped closer, flicking his cigarette butt into the grass and stamping it out before craning his neck to me. “Of course, upho